ROH 101: Roster Evaluation Pre-Best in the World
Analysis by PWTorch VIP member Mike Metzger

Main Event

- ROH World Champion Adam Cole: Reminiscent of a young, heel Shawn Michaels, but instead of hanging around the mid-card for years, Adam Cole climbed straight to the top of Ring of Honor. He started out as one-half of the Future Shock tag team with Kyle O’Reilly. They eventually broke up, with Cole playing the babyface and O’Reilly being the ungrateful heel. They had a classic “hybrid rules” match at Best in the World 2012, where Cole bled heavily from the mouth, but was still able to win the match.

After earning a lot praise in ROH and on the independent scene, Cole had a brief run with the ROH TV Title and wrestled a couple of high-profile matches against Matt Hardy. After Jay Briscoe was stripped of the ROH World Title last summer, Adam Cole was there to fill the void at the top of the card. He beat Michael Elgin in a MOTYC to win the vacant title, and then immediately turned heel by super-kicking former champion Jay Briscoe from behind after Briscoe had awarded him the title. Now dressed in nice suits, Cole has aligned himself with former rival Matt Hardy and Michael Bennett. He can definitely bring it in main event-level matches, and can frustrate the hell out of his opponents and the viewing audience with his heel tactics.

- #1 Contender Michael Elgin: Michael Elgin is your top babyface who has been chasing the ROH World Title for the last 18 months. This is a guy who can consistently deliver a four-star match with just about anybody. He had a classic with Davey Richards at Showdown in the Sun during WrestleMania Weekend 2012. Elgin unsuccessfully challenged Kevin Steen for the ROH World Title in what was, perhaps, the Match of The Year in 2012.

Elgin had several stand-out performances during the ROH World Title tournament last summer. There was definitely a Randy Savage vibe, as he advanced in the single-elimination tournament. He was defeated by Adam Cole in the finals of the tournament, but has remained a threat to Cole for the last 6 months. He recently had the distinction of being undefeated during the year 2014, until he challenged A.J. Styles and Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at War of the Worlds.

- Kevin Steen: Two years ago, Kevin Steen was the most newsworthy thing going on in ROH. He finally captured the ROH World Title from Davey Richards at Border Wars 2012. He had a somewhat odd reign as champion, seemingly facing whoever booker Jim Cornette could scrounge together from the independent scene. While the “top indy contender” storyline was an interesting approach to take, it didn’t translate to an epic title reign, certainly not for ROH’s top star.

However, there was a lot of buzz surrounding Steen’s five-star match with Michael Elgin at Glory By Honor 2012 and a four-star-plus ladder match with former partner El Generico (Sami Zayn) at Final Battle 2012. In 2013, Steen was a major part of the SCUM storyline that was just a failure from the start. It was the same, tired “faction taking over” dynamic that we’ve seen time and again in TNA. This was a time when ROH appeared to be on life support. Steen has essentially treaded water since word spread that he would not be renewing his ROH contract this year. With a jump to NXT on the horizon, it remains to be seen if Steen will face Silas Young after a hot angle at War of the Worlds.

- “Iconic” champion Matt Hardy: There was little doubt that Hardy would be hated by ROH fans, and he has been an effective part-time heel for the past couple years. He had two high-profile matches with Adam Cole that really elevated Cole. He also played a major role in S.C.U.M., but it was highly forgettable.

Now, as ROH World Champion Adam Cole’s mentor/partner, Hardy is a good role-player for ROH to have, especially because of the name value he brings. Matt Hardy was awarded Jay Briscoe’s “Real” ROH World Title belt, and re-christened it the “Iconic Title.” WWE could take a lesson from the upcoming Matt Hardy-Jay Briscoe match if they want to learn how to book an effective face-heel dynamic.

- IWGP Hvt. Champion A.J. Styles: TNA’s loss is ROH’s gain. Styles really brings name value to ROH. Some may disagree, but I believe his presence on the two ROH/NJPW iPPVs was the reason those shows created as much buzz as they did. Sure, the NJPW involvement was newsworthy, but seeing A.J. as the IWGP Hvt. Champion and leader of NJPW’s top heel faction, Bullet Club, was really special.

Styles has had some solid matches with Roderick Strong and Michael Elgin since returning. Now that he is heel and an international champion, it will be interesting to see what ROH has planned for A.J. Styles going forward.

- Jay Briscoe: Known for teaming with his brother Mark, Jay found singles success after defeating Kevin Steen at Supercard of Honor VII in 2013. He was stripped of the title a few months later after being “fired” for making insensitive remarks on Twitter. Storyline-wise, he never left ROH and was only “injured.” He returned to the company around the same time ROH was crowning a new champion in September 2013. Briscoe awarded the title belt to tournament winner Adam Cole, but was then blindsided by a superkick from Cole for no good reason.

Last fall, Briscoe unveiled the “Real” ROH World Title belt, which had a cartoon version of Briscoe’s head on it and the “true lineage” of the championship attached to it. Briscoe has feuded with Cole for the past six months, but decisively lost his version of the title to Cole at Supercard of Honor VIII during WrestleMania 30 weekend. Briscoe is a crowd favorite, more now than ever, as he feuds with Matt Hardy over the “Iconic” Title.

- Chris Hero: Hero had a couple of great matches since returning to the company late last year. He even challenged Adam Cole for the ROH World Title at the 12th Anniversary show in February, albeit unsuccessfully. Hero has not appeared in ROH during the last couple months, including the two ROH/NJPW iPPVs. With a return to traditional PPV on the horizon, it should be a given for ROH to book Hero for the show, as he is one of the biggest names on the indy scene right now.

Second Tier

- Silas Young: I personally believe “The Last Real Man” is one of the best characters in pro wrestling right now. He has the look down, mustache and all. I’m glad to see that ROH is finally pushing the guy, after he floundered in the mid-card for the past year. I think he can be a big star for ROH. I’m excited to see where they go with him and Kevin Steen after the hot angle at War of the Worlds. With Steen’s departure on the horizon, it seems that Young will be set for a huge victory, if the match happens. Steen is not advertised for any upcoming ROH events, but he does appear on the official Best on the World PPV poster.

- Michael Bennett w/Maria: PWTorch columnist Greg Parks recently wrote that he couldn’t help but think something is missing with Bennett. I couldn’t agree more. He was hyped as “the next big thing” back in the Jim Cornette era in 2011. For months, Kevin Kelly told us that Bennett was considering offers from every major wrestling promotion and Hollywood. Late last year, Bennett finally made his decision to stay in ROH, but has really gone nowhere since.

Bennett had a forgettable feud with Kevin Steen over, get this, the piledriver. Both guys used the piledriver, so they feuded over it, and the loser was no longer allowed to use the piledriver. You would think being partnered with real-life girlfriend Maria Kanellis would help, but I think Maria just cheapens a lot of his matches with interference and shenanigans at ringside. He was recently partnered up with champ Adam Cole and Matt Hardy, but no one really cared.

- ROH Tag champions reDRagon: The team of Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish is proving to be one of the hottest tag acts in pro wrestling right now. They play douchebags and dress the part. My favorite part of the gimmick is when Bobby Fish wears the Bluetooth headset. They consider themselves a hybrid team, which means they combine the skill sets of both pro wrestling and MMA. They blurred the line even further at War of the Worlds when they were accompanied to the ring by UFC fighter Tom Lawlor.

O'Reilly & Fish consistently have great matches, especially against the Young Bucks. They get a bit too comedic for their own good at times, as they host a segment called The Fish Tank where they use their dry senses of humor to ridicule their guests. These guys have the potential to steal whatever show they are booked on.

- Young Bucks: These guys are so tremendous in the ring. What more needs to be said? Their match against reDRagon at War of the Worlds was a four-star-plus classic.

- ROH TV champion Jay Lethal (w/Truth Martini): Lethal is a guy who was treading water for a while. He is a perennial TV title contender, but he was getting quite stale. They did a nice job developing his character in early 2013, when he was looking to avenge Kevin Steen spitting on his mother sitting at ringside. Lethal showed a new “mean streak,” but it floundered when couldn’t beat Steen for the title at the 11th Anniversary show in 2013.

Lethal turned heel and aligned himself with manager Truth Martini at Supercard of Honor VIII during WrestleMania 30 weekend. I was wondering if Lethal was capable of working as a heel, but was pleasantly surprised by his match against KUSHIDA at War of the Worlds. James Caldwell and Bruce Mitchell recently mentioned on the post-War of the Worlds iPPV audio show that Lethal carries the TNA stigma around. I certainly agree, but Lethal really has an opportunity to prove himself in his new role.

- Tommaso Ciampa: “The Sicilian Psychopath” has a good look, but his promo skills leave a lot to be desired. He comes across more as a guy pretending to be a psycho, not someone who’s actually crazy. That might be what’s missing, as he has treaded the same waters as Jay Lethal for the past couple years. Seriously, these guys have literally feuded for two years now!

- Matt Taven: Taven is another guy who has a certain x-factor. I could be saying that because he reminds me a lot of a young Sean Waltman during the 1-2-3 Kid days. He won the Top Prospect Tournament in 2013 and upset then-TV Champ Adam Cole to win the title. He recently turned babyface after firing Truth Martini as his manager. Martini threw a fireball at Taven in response. I think a Jay Lethal-Matt Taven feud for the TV Title could be a real star-making moment for Taven. Unfortunately, ROH is keeping Ciampa involved in the title picture for moment, to the pleasure of the mysterious segment of wrestling fans who enjoy triple threat matches.

- The Decade: Roderick Strong, Jimmy Jacobs, and B.J. Whitmer have all been in ROH for over ten years, and they are tired of seeing guys like A.J. Styles and Chris Hero get a hero’s welcome when they returned from the big leagues. That was the money-making way this faction started out. For whatever reason, it got shifted to the mid-card in a hurry.

Basically, these guys are now in the “respect” business, and are taking “young boys” like Adam Page and Tadarius Thomas under their collective wing. In actually, they’re just hazing these guys and making life miserable for anyone they deem “disrespectful.” The Decade is over-pushed on TV, but I like the character development it’s giving to guys like Cedric Alexander and now Caprice Coleman.

- Cedric Alexander: Cedric had a star-making performance in his match with Roderick Strong at Global Wars. He has a good look to him and can definitely bring it in the ring. This is what I like about The Decade storyline; it’s giving some of the mid-card acts a chance to develop their characters.

- A.C.H.: A.C.H. is an indy darling, and rightfully so. He brings a little something extra when executing his offense. He can also attain tremendous heights when he dives. Seek out one of his matches if you haven’t seen him before, and you’ll see what I mean.

- Rowe/Hanson: Hanson has a pretty distinctive look for ROH. He is a big man who looks like a Berzerker-esque mountain man. He can pull off some impressive moves for a big man, including his patented cartwheel. But, he seems limited, as most of his matches are kept short. He won the Top Prospect 2014 tournament. Rowe was Hanson’s opponent in the tournament finals, and it appears they were put together to fill a void in the depleted tag division. Michael Elgin has publicly endorsed the team on TV, but it really hasn’t translated to any rub as of yet.

The Undercard

- R.D Evans: R.D. Evans was used a jobber on Smackdown back when Ryback was doing the bully routine last year. Since then, he’s been touting this fictitious “streak” that’s now over 100-0. The crowd loves him because, right down to his costume, the whole thing is ridiculous.

- Romantic Touch: It’s Rhett Titus under a mask. Reminds me a lot of Dolph Ziggler - a talented guy who is being underutilized for unknown reasons.

- Cheeseburger: Pretty sure he is a ring crew member, turned ROH Dojo trainee. Charlie Haas verbally berated him in a promo last year and “Cheeseburger” was born. His arms are really skinny.

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